One suspected Turkana warrior from Kenya has been shot dead in a gun battle between Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) soldiers and Turkana warriors.
The warrior was gunned down Tuesday morning during a 20-minutes fire exchange between UPDF and Turkana cattle rustlers who had raided cows in Losilang village in Kotido district.
Captain Albert Arinaitwe, the UPDF 3rd division spokesperson, said the warriors who were all armed refused to stop when UPDF soldiers ordered them and instead started shooting, provoking soldiers to respond with gunfire that put one warrior out of action while the others escaped unhurt.
He said the army recovered one SMG gun with ammunitions from the killed warrior and all the 30 cows and 33 goats that the warriors had raided.
The foiled raid comes just days after the minister for Karamoja affairs, Mr John Byabagambi, warned Turkana pastoralists against entering Uganda with their guns.
Mr Byabagambi’s warning followed consecutive raids allegedly conducted by the armed Turkana pastoralists in Kaabong and Kotido districts.
The Turkana are Kenya’s second largest pastoral group and keep crossing into Uganda in search of water and pasture.
